THE PONDICHERRY (ADMINISTRATION) ACT, 1962 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Officers and functionaries in relation to Pondicherry. 
4.  Continuance of existing laws and their-adaptation. 
5.  Property and assets. 
6.  Rights and obligations. 
7.  Continuance of existing taxes. 
8.  Power to extend enactments to Pondicherry. 
9.  Extension of the jurisdiction of Madras High Court to Pondicherry. 
10.  Jurisdiction of High Court. 
11.  Advocates entitled to practise before High Court. 
12.  Power of High Court to make rules. 
13.  Validation of certain orders and decrees. 
14.  Limitation for appeals. 
15.  Saving of limitation in certain cases. 
16.  Rule of construction. 
17.  Power to construe laws. 
18.  Effect of other laws. 
19.  Power to remove difficulties. 
20.  Repeal and saving. 

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THE PONDICHERRY (ADMINISTRATION) ACT, 1962 

ACT NO. 49 OF 1962 

An Act to provide for the administration of Pondicherry and for matters connected therewith. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Pondicherry 

[5th December, 1962.] 

(Administration) Act, 1962. 

(2) It extends to the whole of Pondicherry. 

(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 16th day of August, 1962. 

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a)  “Administrator”  means  the  Administrator  of  Pondicherry  appointed  by  the  President  under 

article 239 of the Constitution; 

(b) “appointed day” means the 16th day of August, 1962, being the date of entry into force of the 

Treaty of Cession; 

(c) “former French Establishments” mean the territories which immediately before the appointed 
day were comprised in the French Establishments in India known as Pondicherry, Karikal, Mahe and 
Yanam; 

(d) “High Court” means the High Court at Madras; 
(e) “law” means any Act, Ordinance, Regulation, rule, order, bye-law, decree or other provision 

(by whatever name called) having the force of law; 

(f)  “Pondicherry”  means  the  Union  territory  comprising  the  territories  of  the  former  French 

Establishments; 

(g) “Treaty of Cession” means the treaty concluded between France and India on the 28th day of 
May,  1956,  establishing  the  cession  of  the  French  Establishments  by  France  to  India  in  full 
sovereignty. 

3. Officers and functionaries in relation to Pondicherry.—Without prejudice to the powers of the 
Central Government to appoint from time to time such officers and authorities as may be necessary for 
the administration of Pondicherry, all courts, tribunals, authorities and officers, whether in India or in the 
former  French  Establishments,  who  immediately  before  the  appointed  day,  were  exercising  lawful 
functions in connection with the administration of those Establishments or any part thereof, including the 
Council of Government and the Representative Assembly, shall, unless otherwise directed at any time by 
the Central Government or the Administrator in relation to any such court, tribunal, authority or officer, 
or  until  other  provision  is  made  by  law,  continue  to  exercise  in  connection  with  the  administration  of 
Pondicherry their respective powers and jurisdiction and perform their respective duties and functions in 
the same manner and to the same extent as before the appointed day with such altered designation, if any, 
as that Government may determine. 

4. Continuance of existing laws and their-adaptation.—(1) All laws in force immediately before 
the appointed day in the former French Establishments or any part thereof shall continue to be in force in 
Pondicherry until amended or repealed by a competent Legislature or other competent authority: 

Provided that references in any such law to the President or Government of the French Republic shall 
be  construed  as  references  to  the  Central  Government,  references  to  the  Governor  of  the  French 
Establishments in India, to the Commissioner of the Republic for the French Establishments in India, to 
the  Chief  Commissioner  for  the  French  Establishments,  to  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  the  State  of 
Pondicherry  or  to  the  Chief  Commissioner,  Pondicherry,  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  the 
Administrator of Pondicherry and references to the State of Pondicherry shall be construed as references 
to Pondicherry. 

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(2) For the purpose of facilitating the application of any such law in relation to the administration of 
Pondicherry  and  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  provisions  of  any  such  law  into  accord  with  the 
provisions of the Constitution, the Central Government may, within three years from the appointed day, 
by order, make such adaptations and modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be 
necessary  or  expedient  and  thereupon  every  such  law  shall  have  effect  subject  to  the  adaptations  and 
modifications so made. 

5. Property and assets.—For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that all property and assets 
within Pondicherry which, immediately before the appointed day, vested in the Government of the French 
Republic shall, save as otherwise expressly provided in the Treaty of Cession, vest in the Union. 

6. Rights and obligations.—Subject to the provisions of the Treaty of Cession, all rights, liabilities 
and  obligations  of  the  Government  of  the  French  Republic  in  relation  to  or  arising  out  of  the 
administration  of  the  former  French  Establishments  shall,  as  from  the  appointed  day,  be  the  rights, 
liabilities and obligations of the Central Government. 

7. Continuance of existing taxes.—All taxes, duties, cesses and fees which, immediately before the 
appointed day, were being lawfully levied in the former French Establishments or any part thereof shall 
continue to be levied in Pondicherry and to be applied to the same purposes, until other provision is made 
by a competent Legislature or other competent authority. 

8. Power to extend enactments to Pondicherry.—The Central Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, extend with such restrictions and modifications as it thinks fit, to Pondicherry and 
enactment which is in force in a State at the date of the notification. 

9. Extension of the jurisdiction of Madras High Court to Pondicherry.—As from the 6th day of 

November, 1962, the jurisdiction of the High Court shall extend to Pondicherry. 

10.  Jurisdiction  of  High  Court.—(1)  Without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  provisions  of     

section 9, the High Court shall have, in respect of Pondicherry, all such jurisdiction as under the law in 
force  immediately  before  the  appointed  day  was  exercisable  in  respect  of  the  former  French 
Establishments  by  the  Cour  de  Cassation,  the  Cour  Superieur  d’  Arbitrage  and  the  Counseil  d’  Etat  of 
France: 

Provided  that  while  determining  appeals  from  decisions  of  courts  and tribunals  in  Pondicherry,  the 
High  Court  shall,  as  far  as  may  be,  follow  the  same  procedure  and  have  the  same  power  to  pass  any 
judgment,  decree  or  order  thereon,  as  it  follows  and  has  while  determining  appeals  from  decisions  of 
courts in the State of 1[Tamil Nadu]. 

(2) All appeals and other proceedings from or in respect of any judgment, decree or order of any court 
or tribunal in the former French Establishments pending immediately before the appointed day before the 
Cour de Cassation or the Cour Superieur d’ Arbitrage or the Counseil d’ Etat of France and all original 
proceedings in relation to those Establishments pending immediately before the appointed day before the 
Counseil d’ Etat shall, by virtue of this Act, stand transferred to the High Court and shall be disposed of 
by the High Court in the exercise of jurisdiction conferred on it by this Act, as if such appeals and other 
proceedings had been filed before the High Court. 

Explanation.—All appeals and other proceedings filed before the appointed day but not transmitted to 
the Cour de Cassation or the Cour Superieur d’ Arbitrage or the Counseil d’ Etat shall be deemed to be 
appeals or proceedings, as the case may be, pending before the Court for the purposes of this sub-section. 

11. Advocates entitled to practise before High Court.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the 
Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961), but subject to such rules as may be framed  by the High Court, any 
person  who  is  entitled  to  practise  before  the  Tribunal  Superieur  d’  Appeal  at  Pondicherry  shall  be 
recognised  as  an  advocate  entitled  to  practise  in  the  High  Court  in  relation  to  cases  coming  before  the 
High Court from Pondicherry. 

1. Subs. by Madras State (Alteration of Name) A.L.O., 1970 (G.S.R. 112 of 1970) for “Madras”. 

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12.  Power  of  High  Court  to  make  rules.—The  High  Court  may,  from  time  to  time,  make  rules, 

consistent with this Act, to provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:— 

(a) the translation of any papers filed in the High Court and the preparation of paper books for 
hearing  all  appeals  and  the  copying,  typing  or  printing  of  any  such  papers  or  translation  and  the 
recovery  from  the  persons  at  whose  instance  or  on  whose  behalf  papers  are  filed  of  the  expenses 
thereby incurred; 

(b) the court-fees payable for instituting proceedings in the High Court, the fees to be charged for 
processes  issued  by  the  High  Court  or  by  any  officer  of  the  court  and  the  amount  payable  in  any 
proceeding in the High Court in respect of fees of the advocate of any party to such proceedings; 

(c) the procedure to be followed in the High Court; 

(d) the approval, admission, enrolment, removal and suspension of advocates from Pondicherry. 

13.  Validation  of  certain orders  and  decrees.—(1) Every  order  or  decree  purported to  have  been 
made by the Cour de Cassation, the Cour Superieur d’ Arbitrage or the Counseil d’ Etat of France during 
the  period  commencing  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1954,  and  ending  on  the  appointed  day,  in  any 
appeal or other proceeding from, or in respect of any judgment, decree or order of any court, tribunal or 
other  authority  in  the  former  French  Establishments  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  validly  made,  in 
accordance with law; and shall for all purposes have effect as if it were an order or a decree made by the 
High Court in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act. 

(2)  Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  sub-section  (1),  where  any  decision  has  been  rendered 
after  the  17th  March,  1960,  by  any  court  in  France  in  any  case  in  which  the  respondent  had  no 
opportunity  to  appear  for  want  of  service  of  summons  transmitted  through  the  Administration  of  the 
former French Establishments, such decision shall be deemed never to have been rendered and shall be 
deemed  to  be  pending  before  the  court  by  which  such  decision  was  rendered  and  accordingly  stand 
transferred  to  the  High  Court  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  the  court  in  Pondicherry  corresponding  to  the 
court in France in which the case shall be deemed to be pending. 

(3) As soon as may be after the 6th day of November, 1962, the Administrator shall transmit to the 
High Court or, as the case may be, to the corresponding court, the record of every such case as is referred 
to  in  sub-section  (2),  together  with  a  certificate  that  the  summons  in  that  case  was  not  served  on  the 
respondent. 

14. Limitation for appeals.—(1) The periods of limitation for appeals to the High Court shall be as 

set out below:— 

S. 
No. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Description of appeal. 

Period of 
limitation. 

Time from which period begins to 
run. 

Civil Appeal against any judgment or order. 

90 days 

The date of the judgment or order. 

Criminal Appeal against a sentence of death. 

7 days 

The date of sentence. 

Criminal Appeal against any sentence or order 

other than a sentence of death. 

30 days 

The date of the sentence or order. 

Criminal Appeal against an order of acquittal. 

90 days 

The date of the order of acquittal. 

Labour Appeal under section 207 of the French 

Labour Code, 1952. 

30 days 

The date of the judgment or order. 

6. 

Labour Appeal under section 216 of the French 

Labour Code, 1952. 

30 days 

The date on which the report and 
the recommendation of the 
expert are communicated to the 
party appealing. 

7. 

Appeal against a judgment or order of the 
Administrative Tribunal at Pondicherry. 

90 days 

The date of the judgment or order. 

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(2) Except in the case of a Criminal Appeal against a  sentence of death, in computing the period of 
limitation,  the  time  taken  for  obtaining  a  certified  copy  of  the  judgment,  order,  report  and 
recommendation, appealed against, as the case may be, shall be excluded. 

(3) In the case of an appeal preferred by an accused person under sentence and in custody, the date on 
which he lodges the memorandum of appeal with the Superintendent of the Jail in which he is detained 
shall be deemed to be the date of presentation of the appeal in the High Court. 

(4) Any appeal may be admitted after the period of limitation prescribed therefor when the appellant 

satisfies the Court that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within such period. 

15. Saving of limitation in certain cases.—In computing the period of limitation under section 14 or 
under any other law, any period during which an appeal could not be filed or a proceeding could not be 
instituted because the jurisdiction of the High Court did not extend to Pondicherry shall be excluded. 

16. Rule of construction.—References in any law in force in Pondicherry to the Cour de Cassation, 
the Court Superieur d’ Arbitrage or the Counsel d’ Etat shall be construed as references to the High Court. 

17. Power to construe laws.—For the purpose of facilitating the application of any law in relation to 
Pondicherry,  any  court  or  other  authority  may  construe  any  such  law  in  such  manner  not  affecting  the 
substance, as may be necessary or proper to adapt it to the matter before the court or other authority. 

18.  Effect  of  other  laws.—The  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have  effect  notwithstanding  anything 

inconsistent therewith contained in any other law in force in Pondicherry. 

19. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of 
this  Act,  the  Central  Government  may,  by  order  published  in  the  Official  Gazette,  make  any  such 
provisions as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty. 

(2) Any order under sub-section (1) may be  made so as to be restrospective  to any date not earlier 

than the appointed day. 

20.  Repeal  and  saving.—(1)  The  Pondicherry  (Administration)  Ordinance,  1962  (8  of  1962),  is 

hereby repealed. 

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be 

deemed to have been done or taken under this Act. 

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